Living With Autism: Easterseals Southwest Florida

by Kaileia Suvannamaccha | January 2024

Autism Spectrum Disorder, a developmental disability that touches the lives of many across the globe, presents a wide spectrum of social, communicative, and behavioral challenges for individuals and families.

Nationally, Easterseals, Inc., has been dedicated to empowering individuals of all ages with disabilities since 1934. The nation’s largest nonprofit health care organization now serves over 1.5 million people across 69 locations.

In Sarasota, Easterseals Southwest Florida has become a local lifeline and cornerstone in the community, renowned for its comprehensive care and diverse support services, tailored to meet the unique needs of those navigating the complex challenges of living with autism.

Innovative and Therapeutic Services

Easterseals Southwest Florida offers a wide range of therapeutic services, including both traditional and innovative approaches. One of their most unexpected yet rewarding collaborations involves working with horses.

“At our Easterseals Ranch location in Nokomis, we offer Hippotherapy, which is speech, occupational, and physical therapy using horses in our therapy treatment,” says Nicole Murby, Vice President of Therapy Services at Easterseals Southwest Florida.

Nicole explains how the transformative sessions not only provide therapeutic benefits, but also create a rare and motivating experience for the children involved. “Our children and adult riders are able to create a special bond with the horses while improving their strength and mobility.”

Other transformative therapeutic activities that allow individuals to express their thoughts and emotions nonverbally is Art Therapy and Music Therapy. They are integral components of Easterseals’ comprehensive therapy services, and both leverage a universal language to promote emotional expression and potentially increase social interaction among disabled children.

Early Education and Beyond

Lily Preschool is an accredited program for children up to 5 years of age comprised of a specialized support team of teachers, speech-language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, as well as registered behavior technicians, specially trained to recognize and nurture each child’s unique strengths and challenges.

By presuming competence and identifying strengths, Easterseals cultivates an environment where children can learn to advocate for themselves.

“One of the first things they teach in the preschool program, even though it’s not specific to children with the diagnosis of autism, is boundaries, and how to self-advocate through saying no or asking for help. All of the children learn these skills together, which helps build their self-confidence and self-esteem,” says clinical psychologist, Dr. Jena Lieb.

The Easterseals Academy, a private school and outpatient clinic for K-12 students with developmental, physical, learning, and/or behavioral disabilities, boasts small class sizes and individualized attention as part of the holistic educational experience they nurture.

For those aged 22 and above, Easterseals offers adult programs that focus on employment services, instilling individuals with a sense of purpose and independence.

The PLAY Project

Easterseals’ PLAY Project (Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters) is an evidence-based, intensive early intervention program that recognizes the vital role parents play in the growth and progress of autistic children ages 2-6.

The innovative program equips families with necessary skills to become active participants in their child’s development journey, encouraging a safe, supportive learning environment centered around play.

PLAY Project has proven to be conducive to refining social skills, improving language abilities, and enhancing overall development in autistic children, as well as those highly suspected to be on the spectrum.

The Importance of Early Intervention

Diagnostic services are used to first identify, then understand the needs of every individual at Easterseals. Early intervention plays a pivotal role in shaping the long-term psychological well-being of individuals with autism.

Dr. Jena, who is actively involved in conducting comprehensive diagnostic evaluations, highlights the significance of connecting children to necessary support to reduce the long-term costs of treatment and risk of comorbid diagnoses from years of remaining undiagnosed, and ultimately alleviate stress for individuals and their families.

“By taking the stress off the family, it helps allow the parents to be a bigger support for their child,” she says. “Families come into evaluations with different levels of knowledge about autism. When parents hear that their child has a diagnosis of autism, some families worry what this means for their child’s future, for example, if they will be able to develop close relationships or function independently as adults.”

Melissa Holderbach, the Director of Behavior Therapy, offers insights into the challenges and rewards of implementing behavior therapy programs. “Our biggest challenge right now is getting insurance to cover the cost of services, especially for children. The earlier we can get those services started, the better outcomes we’ll have,” she urges.

Melissa highlights the individualized nature of interventions, emphasizing the importance of tailoring strategies to the unique strengths and needs of each child. “We use the strengths that the child comes in with. We really focus on that area to make sure we are building on the skills that they have, and we work collaboratively with our team members to hone those skills.”

Combating Challenges Through Collaboration

Central to Easterseals Southwest Florida’s empowerment approach is collaboration—with families, agencies, and the community.

The face of disabilities has significantly changed over the past decade, expanding from primarily physical disabilities to a more diverse range of challenges, including ADHD and sensory processing disorders. “To the person coming in who is not familiar with disabilities, it just looks like a classroom of kids running around. But once you’re there for a little bit, you’ll see there are a lot of kids with different behavioral things that they need to work on,” says Nicole.

Melissa emphasizes the role of parent consultation, working together to provide strategies within the home environment. “For example, we’ll begin toilet training in the school setting and then transition the interventions to the parents to implement in the home setting. We check in daily to assist with any challenges and work together for consistency of programming and increased outcomes,” she adds.

Nicole shares, “My daughter has a genetic disorder called Noonan Syndrome and my son has autism. They both participate in multiple programs at Easterseals Southwest Florida and flourished in their therapeutic and educational goals. Having two children with disabilities has helped me know what families need and we have built programs based on that knowledge.”

As much as the organization promotes family collaboration, it also understands the importance of family respite, offering in-home and on-site programs to ensure parents receive crucial breaks. “It’s really hard, for families that have children that really no one else is able to watch, but our staff are experienced in working with them, and it really is important for parents to be able to have a break,” she says.

A Lifelong Impact

Dr. Jena emphasizes, “We can’t predict the future of what a child’s life will look like. But we can help connect the families to resources and appropriate services to help build on their child’s strengths and become the most independent adults that they can be.”

The future, as seen by Easterseals Southwest Florida, involves not just meeting current demands, but preparing for the continued rise in diagnoses.

For its future, the organization seeks funding for continued improvement, new buildings, and more intensive services so it can meet the ever-growing community needs, and continue to empower children with various developmental disabilities, including autism, toward greater independence.

From early childhood development to family support, veteran services, artistic, therapeutic, diagnostic, as well as educational offerings, Easterseals Southwest Florida has pioneered a variety of ways to assist people living with disabilities like autism and remains committed to helping individuals with disabilities address life’s unique challenges, achieve personal goals, as well as feel included and valued in every aspect of their lives.

For more information on ways to help, visit easterseals-swfl.org or call 941.355.7637.